By Jeannie Griffith

Those of us who live in upstate New York know the challenges facing local municipalities-and we know what local government services are costing us as taxpayers. On top of the increasing expense and complexity of providing basic services like infrastructure maintenance, police and fire protection, social services, and public education, communities must also tackle thorny land-use, planning, and environmental issues and try to revive moribund local economies. And all the while the populations-and therefore revenue bases-of many Upstate counties continue to erode.

According to Rod Howe, Cornell Cooperative Extension's assistant director for community and economic vitality and executive director of Cornell's Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI), Cornell has an important role to play as New York's land-grant university by working in partnership with an array of regional and state agencies and organizations to help local governments handle tricky issues and operate more efficiently.

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Though the need for services and solutions is felt locally, there is increasing recognition that local communities would profit from some degree of collaboration and consolidation of services. To that end, Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced last May the creation of the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness. Through the commission, the State of New York has made $25 million in funding opportunities available to local governments for consolidation and shared service projects.

To promote dialogue among local leaders and provide local government officials with the knowledge needed to handle complex management and policy issues, CaRDI (Cornell's Community and Rural Development Institute) helped to institute a voluntary certification program in 2004 through the Dennis A. Pelletier County Government Institute, a collaboration of Cornell and the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC). County officials can complete the 34-credit program in less than two years by attending NYSAC conference programs, Cornell University sponsored events, and other designated conferences and training seminars throughout the year.

In late January, for example, 80 county legislators, commissioners, supervisors, and administrators attended a daylong training session, Orientation for Newly Elected and Appointed County Officials, co-hosted by CaRDI at the NYSAC Legislative Conference. Pelletier Institute workshops at the conference covered: immigration trends and their implications for county government (Max Pfeffer, Development Sociology); the effect of baby boomer retirements on county workforces (David Brown, Development Sociology); correcting the U.S. Census Bureau's county population estimates (Warren Brown, Program on Applied Demographics); regional economic development planning (Rod Howe, CaRDI and Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Warren Brown); and public sector labor/management relationships (Thomas Quimby, Capital Region director, School of Industrial and Labor Relations).

“It is not enough to offer training and expect that it will automatically increase the capacity of local leaders to improve their communities,” stresses Howe. “Through CaRDI and Cornell Cooperative Extension, we are committed to developing mechanisms and platforms that will help create bold and innovative strategies for revitalized regions across New York state.”